A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Carnivorous Insectivores Indoors Help with Venus Fly Trap

Hello every,
So I have a Venus Fly Trap. I've had them before when I was younger but could never keep it alive. Now I've had this VFT since sometime around the end of May. It's done very well so far, even bloomed (which I found out later I probably shouldn't have let it fully bloom). Anyway, it survived and as winter approaches, I know that a VFT has to have a dormant period. Now that I've had this plant for this long, I find myself concerned that I'll do something wrong. I've tried to look up how to do the dormancy and although I do find some info, there are still questions. I'm hoping someone here can answer them.
Does it need to be in a constant dark area? Or just the cool 45-50? Will it need watered during this 3 month period? Is there anything else I should know in order to have a successful dormancy and have my VFT survive? I'd appricate any more detailed info someone can give. I'm really afraid that I'll end up killing my beloved VFT that I've managed to keep alive this long (which is a record for me with VFTs. )

Thanks alot.

Savahnna rose hope this helps

Why is my Venus flytrap not growing? Why are my Venus flytraps leaves turning black? Why are my pitcher plants looking shabby? Just what do you mean by dormancy?

These are just a few of the questions I receive each fall and winter regarding my customers carnivorous plants. With this is mind I have provided brief care instructions designed to allay everyone's fears about their favorite plants during this time of year. Hopefully for many it will mean they begin seeing their plants resting and dormancy as a natural and beneficial process for keeping and maintaining healthy carnivorous plants. I also hope to convey that it is usually not your fault when your plant stops growing and hibernates for a few months.

Venus Flytraps

I put them first on my list because they are often the most misunderstood of all carnivorous plants. Venus flytraps are NOT jungle plants. They are not found in some dense and steamy jungle in some remote part of the world. They are indeed native only to a narrow stretch of coastal area along the Carolina's, mainly within a 100-mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina. The natural environment of the Venus flytrap includes relatively low winter temperatures that never quite reach below freezing.

Q. So how can you give your Venus flytrap a healthy dormancy?
A. Well, if you live in an area with chilly, but not freezing, winters (similar to Venus flytraps' natural habitat in North Carolina), they can be placed outside in a cool area protected from frost. One must keep the soil slightly moist and ensure that the plant still receives a small amount of sunlight. Those who live in areas with extremely cold winters should place their Venus flytraps in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for two to three months, starting in autumn. You can either place them bare rooted wrapped in moist sphagnum moss or just place the whole pot and plant in a sealed zip-lock type bag. As a general rule of thumb, you can do this in early or mid November and then take them out by mid February. Of course you can start this process earlier or latter depending on your needs. One thing is for certain, if you try and bypass a Venus flytraps natural dormancy cycle for more that one year they will eventually "revolt" in the form of weak and stunted growth. So for those of you growing Venus flytraps under artificial lights take heed, a little dormancy education will go along way in keeping your Venus flytrap collection looking stellar.

Q. What kind of Venus flytrap will I recieve from BugBitingPlants if I make a purchase in the fall and winter months?
A. We will endeavor to always send the best looking and healthiest Venus flytraps that are in stock. We will never send a bulb only unless specifically ordered. We keep a stock of Venus flytraps for sale under artificial lights throughout the winter months to ensure you receive a good looking plant. However we cannot guarantee that we will always have enough of our Venus flytraps growing under lights to keep up with demand. In that case we will substitute those for plants that are in dormancy which means you may receive drab looking plants.. Some customers think they are dead but are not dead but merely resting. As a general rule of thumb, don't expect vigorous leaf and trap growth in the middle of winter.

It doesn't need to be in the dark. Just held at around 40 degrees F. It gets too cold where I am so I put mine in zip lock bags and place them in the fridge. The soil just has to be damp, no tray is needed. Remember, distilled or rainwater only. Tap or bottled water will kill them.

Thank you very much for your replies and help. :) I know it gets too cold here so I'll have to find another place. I think our fridge is too cold too actually so I may have to find a room in the house that stays around that temp. Thanks for all the help! I welcome any other suggestions as well. :)

Today I bought a VFT, and its still a baby and I honestly never owned a plant of my own. So I went into this whole thing very blindly. I was on the way home and I put a couple drops of bottled water, then when I got home I gave it tap water. Now I'm very upset to hear that my new addition is going to die. Is there ANY way possible to save her? Also if there is a chance. The plastic container I bought it in has a plastic clear case on top of the VFT inside the container. Should I take the plastic case off of it so it wont strangle itself while its growing, or being that its dormant does it even matter? Please help =/

I watered my VFT tap water for a week and they're still alive. They're tougher than they look. Just give it a good flushing with distilled water; pouring the water on the top and letting it run out the holes on the bottom which you definitely need to have. Also from here on out wait for the (I'm guessing it's in peat moss) to be only slightly moist before watering, don't let it stand in water.
VFTs can definitely live on your window seal without the covering but you need to desensitize the plant. That means leaving a small portion of the lid open for a week or so then a little more, do it slowly and give your plant time to "harden".
Since you bought the plant in the store it's probably not used to direct sunlight. To be healthy it needs to have as much sunlight as possible so you need to desensitize it again with the sun; place it in a shady spot then slowly move it into more sun. There will be some sunburn on your plant but those can't be avoided.
Also VFTs grow VERY slowly, so don't worry about it "strangling" itself.
Take a deep breath and relax, your plant should be fine. Give it time to recover, take things slowly and only desensitize it from one thing at a time.

I have been a carnivorous plants fan for a very long time. Today I was doing some research on my plants and found that I should be using a dehumidifier for them. I'm a little embarrassed and confused that I have never heard of this but I guess it isn't too late to start right? So, I got into the attic and dug out the dehumidifier but it appears to have compressor issues. Has anyone else had this issue? I keep my fly traps in the basement so I'm pretty sure a new dehumidifier will work for the high humidity problems but can anyone suggest a brand? Looked into this Basement Dehumidifier. If you have it, does it seem to work well for the fly trap? I need to get some information before I look into it further. Thanks for any advice you all can offer.

A dehumidifier? NOT NEEDED! I never heard of using one at all. On ANY CP! Do not waste your money!

The VFT needs to be put outside in FULL sun once last frost is past and should be dormant in the winter.

@ Mellonworthy. Thanks for the heads up about tap water.
@ Venom1. Sorry. I totally don't need de-humidity here, lol.

Btw, tap water can be used if it is put in an open bottle and left out for 2 days. That lets the chlorine and stuff get out of it. Filtered water can get rid of some of the chemicals too but proly not enough. Flytraps don't like minerals or chlorine and should not be fertilized. The only soil should be 70% peat moss with 30% construction-grade sand without salt or perlite.

Mine died so I did a ton of reading about fly traps. They eat flies, spiders, large ants, ladybugs, tiny grasshoppers, small crickets, small slugs, and large ants. Those are all great food for it but never feed it raw meat like hamburger because that can kill the whole plant. The whole plant needs 1 bug each month but 2 each month will make it grow better. If there are no bugs you can feed it dried crickets from a pet shop and those are only about $20 for 1,000.
Very important. Never feed it a bug too big for it to close all the way on. That can cause it to get infected and die.

If it's humid then you can leave the top off. If it's not humid then leave it on. It can be open when it's dry for maybe 2 hours but then spray it and put the top back on and get it humid again. Always have it off if it's in direct sunlight or it will fry. The best way for light is on a window sill in a half day of morning sunlight because the light then is not as strong so it won't burn as easy. Keep it covered when the sunlight is not direct.
You will know if they have enough light because the inside of the traps will be red and the leafs will be long. And the traps will be about 2 to 4 inches above the ground.
If you use fluorescent light, it should be hot and full spectrum light and it should be 1 foot above the soil.

Also it's normal for leafs to turn brown and die. Brown leafs should always be cut off and new leafs will replace them. The only leafs that are alive in the winter (early November to mid February) will be short and near the ground.

They flower to in the spring. The flower stems are about 6 inches tall with tiny white flowers. The traps won't grow much while this is happening. You can pollinate them by rubbing the flowers face to face with each other. The tiny pod it makes will look like it's trying to open up by itself when it's ready to pick. Spread the tiny seeds in another pot with the same kind of peat moss mix. The seedlings will need about 3 years to become adult plants. :)

Edit about feeding. A trap will only close 4 or 5 times before it dies. If the trap really did catch a bug then it will be replaced by a bigger trap. If it didn't eat then it just dies.

Leaving the tap water sit ONLY gets rid of the chlorine, NOT the other minerals and things that can kill a Flytrap. It's STILL not good to use. Use rainwater or distilled or RO only.

Thanks for that heads up. :) Somebody told me I could use tap water if it sit out for 48 hours. I'm really glad I found out thats not true because I'll be getting another Venus Flytrap when it's spring. and I won't use tap water.